Calls grow for Winnipeg police to search landfill for victims of alleged serial killer
Calls are growing louder for Winnipeg police to reconsider a decision not to search a landfill for the remains of two Indigenous women.
Officers believe the remains of Marcedes Myran, 26, and Morgan Harris, 39, were taken to the Prairie Green Landfill just north of Winnipeg earlier this year.
Investigators said they’re both victims of alleged serial killer Jeremy Skibicki, 35, but police believe there's no hope of a successful recovery.
The decision not to proceed with a search for the women’s remains isn't sitting well with Jeannie White Bird, co-chair of the Manitoba MMIWG2S Family and Survivor Coalition.
"It's unconscionable," White Bird said during an interview in Selkirk, Man.
The Winnipeg Police Service (WPS) explained Tuesday too much time passed and too many truckloads of garbage and construction clay had been dumped at Prairie Green by the time they became aware Myran, who they believe was killed on or about May.4, 2022, and Harris, who they believe was killed on or about May 1, 2022, were potentially at the site.
White Bird said she's thinking of their families.
"I can't even imagine what they're going through,” she said. “It must be devastating for them to hear that, to know that their family member is potentially in the landfill and that there will be no recovery."
Barry Blue, district manager of Prairie Green Landfill, told CTV News Winnipeg he is cooperating with authorities and called the situation an “unspeakable tragedy.”
He said the landfill is a dynamic and dangerous place with lots of equipment and people moving around which could make such a search challenging.
Grand Chief Cathy Merrick of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs wants the WPS to revisit its decision.
"We cannot leave them in a landfill without anybody attempting to search for them,” Merrick said in an interview from Ottawa. “That is so unhonourable even to consider that."
Kimberly Murray agrees. She’s a Mohawk official tasked with helping Indigenous communities investigate unmarked graves and a former executive director of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.
"I think about our women, that the Winnipeg police aren't going to search for those remains like that is a breach of human dignity,” Murray said during a gathering of Assembly of First Nations chiefs in Ottawa. “Those families have a right to know."
The partial remains of Rebecca Contois, another of Skibicki's alleged victims, were recovered this summer by the WPS from Brady Road Landfill. Police said in that case they were able to shut down the landfill within hours of learning in May remains had been found in a garbage bin.
Police said they don't know the whereabouts of a fourth victim known as Buffalo Woman, who they believe was killed around March 15, 2022.
Scott Gillingham, Winnipeg’s Mayor, said he's continuing talks with Indigenous leaders who are helping the victims’ families and doesn't think a search is out of the question.
"Nothing is closed to me,” Gillingham said Wednesday. “I'm open to whatever may be possible in the future."
That gives White Bird some hope a search is still possible.
"The door isn't shut,” White Bird said. “I also have faith in families. I have faith in the support networks we've built around families."
Merrick said some people want operations at the landfill halted until further discussions take place and if no search is conducted she said some feel the site should be permanently shut down.
Skibicki has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder. His lawyer has said he plans to plead not guilty to the charges.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Pedestrian, baby injured after stroller struck and dragged by vehicle in Squamish, B.C.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
'It’s discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
RCMP uncovers alleged plot by 2 Montreal men to illegally sell drones, equipment to Libya
The RCMP says it has uncovered a plot by two men in Montreal to sell Chinese drones and military equipment to Libya illegally.
Government agrees to US$138.7M settlement over FBI's botching of Larry Nassar assault allegations
The U.S. Justice Department announced a US$138.7 million settlement Tuesday with more than 100 people who accused the FBI of grossly mishandling allegations of sexual assault against Larry Nassar in 2015 and 2016, a critical time gap that allowed the sports doctor to continue to prey on victims before his arrest.
Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko won't play in Game 2
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
Man wanted in connection with deadly shooting in Toronto tops list of most wanted fugitives in Canada
A 35-year-old man wanted in connection with the murder of Toronto resident 29-year-old Sharmar Powell-Flowers nine months ago has topped the list of the BOLO program’s 25 most wanted fugitives across Canada, police announced Tuesday.
Doctors ask Liberal government to reconsider capital gains tax change
The Canadian Medical Association is asking the federal government to reconsider its proposed changes to capital gains taxation, arguing it will affect doctors' retirement savings.